By Arina Smith
“Are you okay? You look tired.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize how long it had been since we’d seen each other!”
“I bet you could use a vacation.”
Sometimes it’s those subtle social cues that make you realize your skin could use some TLC. We all deal with aging skin, but the process is more accelerated for some of us than others.
You can’t stop time, but there are plenty of ways to keep the years from showing on your skin. This guide is designed for you.
The Basics Of Skin Aging
Before we get into the specific tips, you have to know the basics of how your skin ages. The key protein fibers that make skin tight and youthful are called collagen and elastin. Your kin uses them in a cycle: the collagen and elastin in your skin are constantly breaking down while being replaced by your body’s natural process.
As you age, your body produces less collagen and elastin. However, these fibers are still breaking down in your skin at the same rate. The result is a lower amount of collagen and elastin in your skin, which causes it to thin, wrinkle, and sag over time.
There are other issues involved in aging as well, of course. Most anti-aging treatments and strategies focus on collagen and elastin, though, so it’s important to understand why they matter.
Now that you have that knowledge, you’re ready to find out how to achieve younger looking skin. We’ve broken down this guide into three ways to look younger: skin care products, skin treatments, and lifestyle choices.
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Skincare Products For Younger Looking Skin
One factor that affects your skin’s aging is what you choose to put on it. To learn how to pick the best skin care products, try these tips:
1. Wear Sunscreen Like It’s Your Job:
Sun damage is one of the largest factors in skin aging. Everyone dreads seeing age spots appear, but did you know these are caused by sun exposure alone?
Sun exposure also affects how firm and smooth your skin is because it breaks down collagen and elastin.
To keep that sun damage to a minimum, wear sunscreen every day and reapply every few hours. If you’ll be spending a lot of time outside, you should also wear sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.
2. Nail Down the Right Daily Skin Care Routine:
Getting the maximum benefit from your morning and evening skin care is all about picking the right products for you. Analyze the details of your skin: does it look oily or dry? Where are your wrinkles? Use during your product search.
It’s also important to note that price doesn’t always equate to quality. Instead of busting your budget, look for products that are based on medical science.
3. Avoid Irritants:
Inflammation has a way of making your skin look older in a hurry. Some people’s skin is more sensitive than others. In general, though, try to avoid products with fragrances or other common irritants.
If you’re trying a new skin care or makeup product, try using on a discrete test spot first. This lets you see how your skin will react before you irritate your entire face.
Professional Treatments For Younger Looking Skin
As important as your home skin care is, it won’t make a big difference in aging that has already appeared. Professional cosmetic skin treatments, on the other hand, can be a slam dunk. Here are some of the most popular options:
1. Facial Filler Injections:
Just as the name suggests, facial filler conditions are injectable materials that “fill in” wrinkles. For example, if you have wrinkles around your mouth, the fillers can plump up your skin to a more youthful shape to smooth out the wrinkles.
Facial fillers can also fill in those facial hollows that develop with age. If you have divets under your eyes or hollows in your cheeks or temples, fillers may be your best option.
2. Chemical Peels:
If you want to battle fine lines and wrinkles as well as age spots and acne scars, chemical peels are a great option. A skilled provider can customize their strength and formula to treat your specific needs with minimal recovery time.
3. Botox Injections:
Botox injections like those discussed on this website may be the most well-known anti-aging treatments. These injections target wrinkles that are caused by tense underlying facial muscles. Those wrinkles tend to include the “crow’s feet,” frown lines between the brows, and forehead creases.
Botox injections are placed into these targeted muscles. They block the nerve signals that tense the muscles, allowing them to smooth out and release the wrinkles in your skin. The treatment takes minutes, but the results last for several months.
4. Nonsurgical Skin Tightening:
If your skin is getting looser, a facelift isn’t your only option. If you’re in the earlier stages of sagging skin, you could be a candidate for nonsurgical skin tightening.
There are many types of technology for this procedure. Most of them send targeted warmth into the deeper layers of the skin. This activates your body’s natural healing process, which produces more of that collagen and elastin you know and love.
5. Laser Skin Treatments:
Laser treatments are the strongest of all these skin treatments, but they also require the most recovery time. During these procedures, an experienced provider sends precise laser light into your skin in the treatment area. That light breaks up age spots and scar tissue while boosting collagen and elastin.
Lifestyle Changes For Younger Looking Skin
It’s clear that what you put on your skin and how you treat your skin will affect the way it ages. However, few people realize how much of an effect your other health habits have on skin aging. Try these tips:
1. Maintain A Healthy Diet:
Every part of your body needs the right nutrients to function at its best, and your skin is no exception. Getting a healthy, balanced diet will help you eat your way to younger skin.
On the flip side, some unhealthy foods can make your skin age faster. For instance, too much sugar leads to inflammation which accelerates skin aging.
2. Exercise On A Regular Basis:
Regular exercise is one of those habits that seems to have endless benefits. It might not be your favorite way to spend time, but consistent exercise can keep you looking younger by promoting healthy circulation. Blood flow brings nutrients and oxygen to your skin, leading to a lively and youthful appearance.
3. Steer Clear Of Smoking:
If you’re a smoker we’re sorry to break the bad news, but smoking is one of the worst things you can do for your skin. In fact, it speeds up the aging process in several ways.
First, smoking is known for hindering circulation, and blood flow is vital to skin health. Second, tobacco makes the collagen and elastin break down at a faster rate. By now, you know what an effect that has on your skin’s appearance.
Finally, think about all the repeated movements you make when you smoke a cigarette. When you make that shape with your mouth so many times each day, it can cause wrinkles to develop faster. There’s a reason those vertical lines above the upper lip are often called “smokers’ lines.”
4. Catch the Z’s You Need:
This is another one of those general health habits that affect your skin’s aging on top of everything else. Every function in your body requires sleep to run at its peak. That includes your body’s ability to carry nutrients and oxygen to the skin.
As an added bonus, sleep helps you avoid short-term problems that make you look older. Everyone who’s ever woken up for a short night to the puffy skin or dark circles under their eyes can attest to this.
5. Manage Your Stress:
Stress is another one of those problems that seem to touch every aspect of your health. When it comes to making your skin look older, stress brings that problem as well.
Stress releases a variety of hormones within your body that lead to inflammation. That inflammation can give you older looking skin. In addition, most of us tense certain facial muscles when we’re stressed. For instance, you might frown or squint without realizing it. Those repeated movements can lead to wrinkles.
6. Achieve And Maintain A Healthy Weight:
When your body is operating at a healthy weight, everything runs better. That includes all the parts of your body that help your skin look younger.
In addition, if your weight yo-yos you could develop sagging skin under your chin from the size fluctuations. Younger skin has a better ability to bounce back too, so the longer you wait before losing weight, the more likely you are to have this problem. That sagging skin can add years to your appearance.
7. Drink Plenty Of Water:
It might feel like people treat water as if it’s the answer to everything, but to some degree it is. Dehydrated skin will amplify every line and wrinkle you can see, as well as plenty you can’t.
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How to Achieve Younger Looking Skin
Younger looking skin is as close to a universal desire as you can get. We all want to feel confident in our appearance, and the tips above can help you get there.
For more health and beauty tips, check out other articles on our lifestyle blog.
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